Pope: Our cities must not be freed of the marginalized, but of marginalization
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Too often, in the name of security, war is waged against the poor, Pope Leo XIV said. The Holy Year instead indicates that safety is found in the culture of encounter, he said. The Jubilee “asks of us the restitution and redistribution of unjustly accumulated wealth, as the way to personal and civil reconciliation.” The pope made his comments during a meeting marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 26. “Today, brothers and sisters, we are engaged in a battle that cannot be abandoned as long as, around us, anyone is still imprisoned in the various forms of addiction,” Pope Leo said. “Our fight is against those who make their immense business out of drugs and every other addiction — think of alcohol or gambling,” he said. “There are huge concentrations of interest and extensive criminal organizations that states have a duty to dismantle.” However, he said, “it is easier to fight against their victims.” “Too often, in the name of security, war is waged against the poor, filling prisons with those who are merely the final link in a chain of death. Those who hold the chain in their hands instead manage to gain influence and impunity,” he said. “Our cities must not be freed of the marginalized, but of marginalization; they must be cleared not of the desperate, but of desperation,” he said.
Archbishop sails ‘into the deep’ taking Jesus to ‘shores of the city,’ ‘shores of our hearts’
BRAINTREE, Mass. (OSV News) — Archbishop Richard G. Henning sailed from Gloucester to Boston June 21 and 22 for “Into the Deep,” a Eucharistic procession by boat that brought the Blessed Sacrament to communities down the North Shore and Boston in honor of the feast of Corpus Christi. The procession took its name from Archbishop Henning’s episcopal motto, “Put out into the deep,” and combined what the archbishop said were his two favorite things: Jesus and the sea. The archbishop has said he senses the presence of God whenever he is by the sea. He has spent his entire priestly career in coastal dioceses and enjoys sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding. Inspired by attending the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024, the archbishop wanted to do something similar to mark the feast of Corpus Christi in Boston. “We brought the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus himself, to the shores of the city,” he said. “What I hope for now is that we allow the Lord Jesus to step upon the shores of our hearts, that we entrust ourselves to him. That we receive that daily bread that is the Lord himself, and it bring us hope and life, strength and wisdom.”
Senate passes Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’; measure heads to House
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Senate Republicans on July 1 passed their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would enact key provisions of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda on taxes and immigration, without any Democratic support and losing three members of their ranks. The House would need to approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it could reach the president’s desk for his signature. Trump has sought to do so by Independence Day, July 4. Catholic leaders have alternately praised and criticized various provisions in the legislation, which has drawn fire from some over its cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and its immigration enforcement measures, while drawing praise from others for a provision to eliminate funds to health providers who also perform abortions for one year. In a July 1 action alert emailed to its supporters, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ultimately said the bill “currently fails the poorest families.” The USCCB asked people to urge their representatives “to oppose cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and programs that help low-income people, keeping in mind how budget and tax decisions will impact families, especially those most vulnerable.”
Some pilgrims who planned for Frassati canonization in August able to pivot to attend Sept. 7
PHOENIX (OSV News) — Catholics across the U.S. are reworking travel plans after the Vatican rescheduled the canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Originally expected to take place Aug. 3, the Vatican announced June 13 the ceremony will take place Sept. 7 — and include Blessed Carlo Acutis. The date has impacted pilgrims like Isabel Gonzalez of Phoenix, who had secured unpaid leave and booked a tour for the original date. The Vatican had never officially set a date for Blessed Frassati’s canonization, but the late Pope Francis had said last November that he intended to proclaim him a saint during the Jubilee of Youth July 28-Aug. 3. Missing the canonization is a blow for many of the pilgrims. Gonzalez still hopes to attend in person this fall, even if it means traveling solo. Tennessee-based 206 Tours is keeping the schedule for its eight Frassati tour groups, though offering to take a pilgrimage group in the fall, too. Lis Molter of Nashville, Tennessee, also booked for August, said she’s disappointed — especially for young pilgrims unable to travel during the school year. Still, she’s embracing the trip and planning a canonization watch party at home in September.
LA Catholics rely on strong faith to persevere amid ICE presence during pilgrimage prayer stop
LOS ANGELES (OSV News) — Even as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage made a prayer stop at St. Vincent DePaul Church near downtown Los Angeles on June 21, the fear and tensions from recent raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reared their head. After singing the Spanish adoration hymn “Bendito, Bendito Sea Dios” (“Blessed, Blessed Be God”), parishioners kneeled in front of the Blessed Sacrament outside the church, as the national pilgrimage began its second day in LA with a Eucharistic adoration session. But while Catholics venerated the Eucharist as it progressed from the school’s parking lot to the street and into the church, Lorena, a parishioner at St. Vincent DePaul who is an unauthorized immigrant, received a message from her 19-year-old daughter, who was selling candles outside. ICE had been roaming nearby. Her daughter had texted her in Spanish: “If you come out of Mass, I’ll call a Lyft for you because I don’t want you to walk. ICE passed a while ago.” The weight of ICE’s presence overwhelmed Lorena, but she said her trust in the Lord wouldn’t permit the fear to get to her, allowing her to help others in her immigrant community. “It’s a calling from God, to persevere, to continue.”
Shrine celebrates 350 years since Jesus showed his heart to French nun as symbol of love
PARIS (OSV News) — The French Shrine of Paray-le-Monial — in the historic region of Burgundy, southeast of Paris — wrapped up celebrations June 26 to 29 marking the 350th anniversary of the Sacred Heart apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The jubilee year, which began last December, has drawn a surge of pilgrims to the shrine, where Jesus appeared to the Visitation nun in the 1670s, revealing his heart as a sign of divine love and sacrifice. Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo of Ajaccio served as papal envoy for the closing events. It was through these apparitions that Jesus requested a feast in honor of his Sacred Heart — a devotion later recognized by the church and made universal in 1856 by Pope Pius IX. Father Etienne Kern, rector of the shrine, noted that while the devotion predates the apparitions, Paray-le-Monial gave it powerful momentum. Today, the sanctuary remains a major destination for pilgrims drawn to the message of Christ’s enduring love for humanity. Today, the Sanctuary of Paray-le-Monial is a renowned place of pilgrimage. It has gained notoriety since 1986, when its promotion as a site for apostolic activities was entrusted to the lay-led Emmanuel Community, founded in 1972.
God looks for humble, loving hearts, not perfection, pope tells world’s priests
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a world marked by growing tension, priests need to build peace and unity together by serving others, Pope Leo XIV said. When hearts are united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they are capable of resolving “not only our inner conflicts but also those that are tearing apart the world in which we live,” he said in a written message to the world’s priests, released June 27, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. In the one-page message to his “brothers in the priesthood,” Pope Leo invited them to renew the “yes” they said to God and to his holy people on the day of their ordination, so they “may be a sacrament of Jesus’ love in the world.” “Do not be daunted by your personal frailty: the Lord does not look for perfect priests, but for humble hearts that are open to conversion and prepared to love others as he himself loved us,” he wrote. Also, “only in the heart of Jesus do we discover our authentic humanity as children of God, brothers and sisters of one another,” the pope wrote. Therefore, he said, “I would make this heartfelt appeal to you today: Be builders of unity and peace!”
Ceasefire brings some relief, but ‘Gaza is bleeding’ and real peace needed, say experts
JERUSALEM (OSV News) — A ceasefire between Israel and Iran is bringing a measure of relief to the Holy Land, but Catholic humanitarians there told OSV News that real and lasting peace must ultimately be achieved. Recent strikes exchanged by Israel and Iran, accompanied by June 21 U.S. attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities, sparked fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announced June 23 by U.S. President Donald Trump, was interrupted by additional bilateral attacks before resuming. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war — launched after the latter’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel — that respite has been a welcome one. “We had the first full night of sleep since the war started,” said Sami El-Yousef, CEO of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “At least, the children now can try to get back to normal and enjoy the time during the summer vacation,” said Joseph Hazboun, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission’s Jerusalem office. But despite the Israel-Iran ceasefire, and with the Israel-Hamas war nearing its second anniversary, said El-Yousef, “Gaza remains bleeding, and unless that war stops, we are only in a pause.”
